There are about 1500 languages in the world, but __41__ a few of them are very __42___. English is one of these. Many people use it, not only in England and the US, but also in other parts of the world. About 200,000,000 people speak it as their own language. It is difficult to say how many people are learning it as a __43__ language. Many millions are __44__ to do so.

   Is it easy or difficult to learn English? Different people may have different __45__. Have you ever __46___ the ads of this kind in the newspapers or magazines?

   “Learn English in six weeks, or your __47__ back …” “Easy and funny? Our records and tapes __48__ you master(掌握) your English in a month. __49___ the first day your __50___ will be excellent. Just send…” Of course, it never __51__ quite like this.

The only language that seems easy to learn is the mother tongue. We should __52__ that we all learned our own language well when we were __53__. If we could learn English in the same way, it would not seem so difficult. __54__ what a small child does. He listens to what people say. He tries what he hears. When he is using the language, talking in it, and __55__in it all the time, just imagine how much __56__ that gets!

So it is __57___ to say that learning English is easy, because a good command（掌握） of English __58__ on a lot of practice. And practice needs great effort and __59__ much time. Good teachers, records, tapes, books, and dictionaries will __60__. But they cannot do the student’ s work for him.

Do you ever feel like you are studying a mad rush of a subject after another? When things happen at such a _  (1)    pace, it is easy to lose sight of what you are learning. It is important to  (2)   every now and then to think about what you have been learning.

Self reflection(反思) means stopping the mad rush and  (3)   yourself so that your brain can evaluate（评估）what it has already  (4)   . Some people prefer to do their self reflections  (5)    while others keep a journal. Either method can work, depending on what your personal  (6)    is.

School textbooks are often divided into units. This can make it  (7)   for someone to begin the process of self reflections. Watch for the times when you complete a unit of study. Sometimes you are mentioned that the unit is  (8)   because there is some kind of test or quiz. Use these natural  (9)   as opportunities to stop and reflect.

You should find  (10)    place---anywhere without noise is OK. This can even be sitting at your desk at school when you finish something  (11)   and the other students are still working. If you are going to take notes, take out your journal and write down some notes on things that you  (12)    learned in this unit. Let your mind think about the notes you have written and make some  (13)  .

Sometimes just pausing to think deeply allows your brain to make connections   (14)  new information can quickly appear when you  (15)  it again. Next, think about things that you still wonder about  (16)  , maybe you learned about a certain body systems, but you don't   (17)   how it works with the other body systems. Maybe you learned a new way to solve a math problem, but you are not sure when you use it. Writing down your   (18)  will help you remember to continue seeking answers the next time you   (19)   the same topic.

Self reflection is an essential skill for a   (20)  student. If you have never taken the time to reflect, try it now.

College is a big deal for American students as well as for Chinese students. During the college   (1)  , some parents become extremely worried. This may only   (2)  the pressure.

  Before I applied to the college, I told my parents I would get everything   (3)   out. If I needed any help, I promised that I would ask them.

As it   (4)   out, I had no problem putting everything together on my   (5)  , including my resume （履历） and a basic outline of my activities in high school. The   (6)   part where I asked for my parents' advice was the essays. In writing and revising the essays, I needed feedback（反馈）from an audience. As my parents know me better than   (7)   else, they were   (8)  for the job.

The essays are extremely important in college admissions. In a competitive pool of applicant; the test scores and activities, as well as the recommendations are all going to be very   (9)  . The essays are the one area in which students can make themselves stand   (10)  . Essays don't have to be big and complicated. I wrote three essays, all   (11)  on small matters and using simple sentences. The admission officers have to read hundreds of essays a day; they are already   (12)   of SAT vocabularies and long sentences.   (13)  , a straightforward writing style is refreshing to their eyes as well as their minds. Essays were the key to my success in the admission game. I just wrote about what I wanted to say, not what I thought the admission officers  (14)   to hear.

In my main narrative-style  (15)  , I told the story of my American journey at the age of 14 During that time, I was not bogged down（陷入）by trying to fit into a new  (16)  ; instead, I looked up to Mother Teresa for guidance and strength. I found my new   (17)   and grew to love the name Teresa and the memories it held.

In my two minor essays, I   (18)   the major events of my life, why I loved writing and why my dad is the person who has the greatest influence on me. Both provided details of my character. The essay about writing, which is titled, "I Shall Not Live in Vain"  (19)   by an Emily Dickinson poem）,earned a lot of praise. It is   (20)   I really looked into my heart and thought deeply in order to reach my answers.

My (1) is often a brief “You have so much time as the president.” I usually carry on a bit about (2) twenty-four hours in the day for everyone, and suggest that “not enough time” is not an (3) explanation of (4) something done.

(5) in graduate school, I tried to prove to one of my professors (6) saying that I was working hard. His answer to me was “ That’s irrelevant(无关的) (7) is important is the (8) of your work.” Since then I have had time to think carefully about the“(9)”dodge(诀窍). And I have come to some (10) - all relevant to the problem of how much time we have.

If you analyze the matter, you can identify two parts of the problem: There is, (11), the matter of time, which we can think of (12). Then there is the problem of “work” during that time. But, as my professor suggested, it's not how hard one works (13) the quality of the product that’s important.

That led me to a new idea: the quality of the work. That (14) is perhaps best explained by a sign I once saw on the wall in someone’s office: “Don’t work harder. (15)” There is a lot of sense in that idea.

If you can’t get more time, and few of us can, the only solution is to improve the quality of the work. That means thinking of ways to get more out of (16) time than we might otherwise get. That should lead us to an analysis of our work habits. Since “work” for students usually means “homework”, the expression “work habits” should be read as “(17) habits”.

Then, as a smart student, you will (18) those skills that you use in study, (19) reading and writing. If you learn to read better and write better, there are big benefits that (20) in all your studies.

A group of graduates got together to visit their old university professor. While talking about the present-day  50   topic—Happiness, the conversation soon turned into complaints about  51   in work and life. Offering his  52  coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and  53   with a large pot of coffee and a  54  of cups — porcelain(瓷), plastic, glass, crystal(水晶), some plain-looking, some expensive, some beautiful — telling them to  55  themselves to the coffee.

Seeing all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said, “If you have   56  , all the nice-looking expensive cups have been 57  , leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is  58  for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the  59 of your problems and stress.”

“  60  the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink.  61  all of you really want is coffee, not the cup.  62   you consciously went for the best cups…. And then you began  63  each other’s cups.”

“Now consider this:  64   is the coffee; the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just  65   to hold and contain life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the  66   of life we live. Sometimes, by focusing only on the cup, we  67   to enjoy the coffee. So, value the coffee, not the cups! Don’t let the cups drive you.   68  , enjoy the coffee.”

“It’s true that the   69   people don’t have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything.”

Nowadays __41_children go to school __42__ few of them have ever asked themselves ___43__ they go there. Some children think that they go to school just to learn their mother tongue, English and other foreign languages, history, science, __44_ and a few other ___45___ . But why do they learn these things? Are these the only things they should learn at school?

     Actually children go to school to ___46___ themselves for the time when they will be grown up and will have to ___47__ themselves. They learn their own language __48__ they will be able to __49__ with people in foreign countries, make friends with them and learn __50__ about their culture and history. They learn mathematics in order to be able to measure the things around them and calculate sums.  __51__ helps them understand something about the world around them and history teaches them about the past and people. Nearly everything they study at school has some use __52___ in their ___53___ , but there is one more ___54___ reason why children go to school.  

    It is more important to receive education than just learning __55___.We go to school__56__ to learn how to learn. Learning is not just for school but for life. So even after we have left school, we have to continue to learn. A man who __57__ knows how to learn will always be __58___ because whenever he is faced with a completely new task or problem, he will teach himself how to deal with it in the best way. ___59__ , children do not go to school just to learn languages, mathematics, geography, etc. They go to school to ___60____ how to learn.  

I have never understood the importance of parties in the classroom. As a mother of two school age children, I believe that public schools should no longer  41  classroom parties during the school day.

 42  is very important to students in school today. Our school year is already too short. Teachers can only just get all the basics of the courses (课程) into the  43  instructional minutes of the day.  44 , there is no time for anything useless or silly.  45  time is best spent focusing on the primary goal — learning.

And what about food? For health and safety reasons, schools often require that  46  for these activities should be bought from a store. This  47  a real problem for many families. Biscuits for a class of students, plus drinks and napkins can  48  what it costs a family to eat a meal at home. The  49  of a classroom party is  50  a problem for many people, especially in these difficult times.  51 , we all know that our children have eaten enough sugar and junk food without the school  52  such unhealthy choices.

All the  53  that a party can create is unacceptable! I  54  those birthday parties held at home for my children. I would just buy the disposable (一次性的) plates, cups, and napkins  55  I didn’t need to do any cleaning up. But even so, I just  56  to fit all the party time rubbish into the rubbish bin (垃圾桶).  57  the trash thrown out by a school of 16 classrooms and over 400 students. It only adds to the  58  of our planet’s environment.

I am not sure when our public schools decided that classroom  59  needed to become a part of the school calendar (日历), but I do not see the  60 . So I do believe schools should forbid (禁止) classroom celebrations.

When I first entered university, my aunt, who is an English professor, gave me a new English dictionary. I was       36        to see that it was an English-English dictionary, also known as a monolingual dictionary.       37        it was a dictionary intended for non-native learners, none of my classmates had one        38        , to be honest, I found it extremely      39         to use at first. I would look up words in the dictionary and      40       not fully understand the meanings. I was used to the       41        bilingual dictionaries, in which the words are       42         both in English and Chinese. I really wondered why my aunt       43        to make things so difficult for me. Now, after studying English at university for three years, I       44        that monolingual dictionaries are       45        in learning a foreign language.
    As I found out, there is     46        , often no perfect equivalence(对应) between two       47         in two languages. My aunt even goes so far as to      48       that a Chinese“equivalent”can never give you the       49       meaning of a word in English!       50         , she insisted that I read the definition of a word in a monolingual dictionary      51         I wanted to get a better understanding of its meaning.       52        , I have come to see what she meant. 
    Using a monolingual dictionary for learners has helped me in another important way. This dictionary uses a(n)      53        number of words, around 2, 000, in its definitions. When I read these definitions, I am _      54        exposed to（接触）the basic words and learn how they are used to explain objects and ideas.       55        ​this, I can express myself more easily in English.

Students will need to use all of their skills in order to understand the reading selections in Reader’s Choice.

The book   41      many types of selections on a wide   42       of topics. These selections provide practice on    43       different reading skills to get the   44     of the writer. They also give students   45       in  four basic reading skills; skimming , scanning, reading for 46       comprehension , and critical reading.

Skimming involves reading quickly through a text to get an overall idea of its contents . this kind of rapid reading is   47       when you are trying to decide   48        careful reading is desirable or when there is not    49      to read something carefully.

Like skimming , scanning is also quick reading,  50      , in this case the search is more 51     to scan is to read  quickly in order to    52    specific information. When you read to find a   53      date, or number you are scanning.

Reading for thorough  comprehension is    54        reading in order to understand the total   55       of the passage.  56     this level of comprehension the reader is   57      to summarize the author’s  ideas but has not yet made a critical evaluation of those ideas.

Critical reading demands that a reader   58       judgments about what he or she reads. This kind of reading   59   posting  and answering questions such as “Does my own experience support  that of the author?”,“Do I    60   the author’s point of view ? ” “Am I convinced by the author’s arguments and evidence?”

School children are now constantly asked by their parents and teachers to study harder and harder. And the competition  31  the students themselves is growing in most schools in China. In my opinion, the fierce（激烈的） 32  in school does more harm than good.

　　Visiting a German City, I was  33  to be present at a parent-teacher meeting at a school. Parents were told at the meeting that their children's school grades were held to be a personal information  34  by the law, and that the school would not disclose（透露）the students' marks,  35  would it report them to the parents. It is their view that a  36  school should encourage children to learn happily without pressure. A student's intelligence（智力）and ability will be  37  later by competition in society.

　　In China, ranking(排名) students according to their examination has been  38  as a means of encouraging students to study harder.

　　A friend told me about a parent-teacher meeting she  39  with her daughter who was in the second grade.

　　At the meeting, a teacher read aloud  40  students in the class and their marks for different subjects . Good students came at the top of the list and poor  41  at the bottom. And in front of everybody at the meeting, the teacher gave warning  42  those poor students and their parents.

　　From this comparison, I  43  that teachers and school leaders in China ought to learn  44  more about children's psychology（心理学）and show their students more  45 . Such competition among students is unhealthy and should not be encouraged.